There is not a lot of money involved – the latest round amounts to $1.53 million total across the country – but the awards aim to use the arts as a community builder, a way of helping cities and towns understand their own identities and join together through culture.

In grant speak, they support “two major outcomes: public engagement with diverse and excellent art and livability, or the strengthening of communities through the arts.” But what that really means is direct support for festivals, exhibits, murals and other public projects that give less-visible segments of the population a piece of the cultural pie.

The program has a small focus and is geared toward organizations with annual budgets of less than $50,000. All the grants are an even $10,000.